Morphologies

of Asia and Africa

Volume 1

Edited by
Alan S. Kaye

Winona Lake, Indiana

Eisenbrauns
2007
 ç Copyright 2007 by Eisenbrauns.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Morphologies of Asia and Africa / edited by Alan S. Kaye.
v. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57506-110-8 (volume 1; hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57506-111-5 (volume 2; hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57506-109-2 (set, both volumes; hardback : alk. paper)
1. Asia—Languages—Morphology. 2. Africa—Languages—
Morphology. I. Kaye, Alan S.
P381.A75M67 2007
409.5—dc22
2007015036

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †‘
 Berber Languages

Chapter 19
Berber Morphology
Maarten Kossmann
Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands

1. Introduction
Describing “the” morphology of Berber is a complicated matter, since Ber-
ber languages differ greatly one from another. 1 Their morphological dif-
ferences are comparable to those that exist among, say, the Romance
languages. A description of “Pan-Berber” morphology, showing only the
similarities and neglecting the many dissimilarities, would lead to a very
reductionalist overall view. On the other hand, a full description of all Ber-
ber morphological systems would result in a lengthy comparative gram-
mar. This article therefore focuses on two representative Berber dialects in
order to set out the basics of Berber morphology.
The first selected dialect is spoken in Figuig, an oasis of several villages
located in eastern Morocco on the Moroccan-Algerian border (32o 10u N,
1o 150u W). 2 This dialect shows many of the features which are character-
istic of Berber dialects spoken in Morocco and Northern Algeria as a whole.
Figuig Berber has three full vowels (a, i, u) and one short vowel, @ (shwa).
Although the occurrence of shwa per se is not entirely predictable, its po-
sition within the word is predictable to such an extent that most scholars
regard it as non-phonemic. In this article, Figuig shwa will be written but
not taken into account in morphological analysis.
The second dialect is spoken in the oasis of Ghadamès, located in west-
ern Libya on the Libyan-Algerian border (30o 08u N, 9o 30u E). 3 This dialect
has five full vowels, a, e, i, o, and u, 4 and two short vowels å and @. As the
short vowel opposition plays a crucial role in the distinction of some mor-
phological categories, its retention in Ghadamès is of great importance to
comparative Berber linguistics. In addition to the data from these two dia-
lects, some features of other Berber dialects will be used for comparative
purposes.
Modern studies of Berber have in general concentrated on phonology
and syntax. Only a handful of authors have presented analyses of Berber
morphologies within the frameworks of modern theories (e.g., Abdel-
Massih 1971; Bendjaballa 1996; El Moujahid 1997; Guerssel 1992). This
1. We will not enter here into a discussion as to whether the varieties of Berber should
be referred to as languages or as dialects. The term dialect will be used consistently to de-
note any variety of Berber.
2. Grammar by Kossmann (1997).
3. Grammar by Lanfry (1968).
4. The length distinction for these vowels made by Lanfry (1968) is probably sub-
phonemic and will not be considered here.

- 429 -
430 Maarten Kossmann

state of affairs means that this article must remain at a descriptive level.
The main focus will be on the morphology of the nominal and verbal sys-
tems. For an analysis of the pronominal system, the reader is referred to
Galand (1966).

2. Stem structure
Berber morphology is characterized by the frequent occurrence of stem-
internal changes. As a result of this, Berber stems have often been de-
scribed as consisting of a consonantal “root,” which conveys lexical infor-
mation, and a vocalic “scheme,” conveying grammatical information. This
analysis, which was borrowed from Semitic linguistics, implies that when
a stem is changed according to some grammatical feature, vowels and con-
sonant length (tenseness) may change, while the consonantal “root” re-
mains constant. In recent years, this opinion has been criticized by several
authors (see especially Cohen 1993) for good reasons: in Berber, vowels are
employed to mark lexical differences to a much larger extent than is the
case in the Semitic languages. Consider the following Figuig Berber verbs
(citation form—Aorist):
af ‘to find’
if ‘to be better’
uf ‘to be inflated’

The ways in which vowels change according to the grammatical func-

tion of the word are determined by the vocalization of the Aorist forms.
For example, whereas verbs like af change their initial vowel a to u in the
Preterite aspect, the vowel in if remains constant. The terms apophony or
ablaut are therefore better suited to describe Berber vowel changes than the
root/scheme analysis.

3. The noun
In most dialects, the majority of the nouns are differentiated according to
gender, case and number. All three differentiations are expressed in a
nominal prefix. Gender and number are also expressed by suffixes. Num-
ber can also be expressed by stem apophony. Gender and number can be
detected from the form of the noun as well as by pronominal and verbal
agreement.
3.1. Gender
The Berber languages distinguish two genders: masculine and feminine.
The opposition masculine-feminine is used to express the following
contrasts:

masculine feminine
male female
large(r) small(er)
collective noun unit noun
 Berber Morphology 431

The male-female distinction is made for humans and higher animals

(mammals, larger birds, etc.). The large-small distinction is made for lower
animals (insects, small reptiles, etc.) and objects. The collective noun–unit
noun distinction is found in certain lexical classes, especially those denot-
ing fruits, insects and building materials. The following examples are from
Figuig:
a-sli ‘groom’ (m.)
ta-sli-t ‘bride’ (f.)
a-ƒ´nza ‘large spoon’ (m.)
ta-ƒ´nzay-t ‘spoon’ (f.)
a-mlul ‘melons (in general)’ (m.)
ta-mlul-t ‘one melon’ (f.)
ti-mlal ‘melons (specific)’ (f. pl.)

Apart from these oppositions, the gender of a noun is often lexically de-
termined, as in Figuig:
a-ƒi ‘buttermilk’ (m.)
t-lussi ‘butter’ (f.)

The feminine gender is always expressed by prefixation of t-. The suf-

fixes -t (f. sg.) and -in (f. pl.) are portmanteau morphemes expressing gen-
der and number. These suffixes do not occur with all feminine nouns.
3.2. Case
Most Berber languages distinguish two cases. Although these forms are ba-
sically used to convey functional relations, berberological tradition calls
them states. The term generally used for the first case is état libre (hence
EL), and for the second état d’annexion or construct state (hence EA).
The EL is used under the following syntactic conditions:
1. as part of a nonverbal sentence
2. when the noun is the direct object of the verb
3. after some prepositions
4. When the noun is topicalized and therefore placed before the in-
flected verb. As Berber is basically a VSO language, this includes the
lexical subject 5 put before the inflected verb
5. as an attributive adjective, irrespective of the case of the head noun
6. as citation form
The EA is used under the following syntactic conditions:
1. when the noun is the lexical subject of the verb (and placed after it)
2. after most prepositions
3. after a few other elements, such as the word u ‘son of’
4. after numerals (not in all dialects)

5. We will not consider here the syntactic question whether one should rather speak of
an explicative complement of the verbal desinence (cf. Galand 1964).
432 Maarten Kossmann

Case is expressed in the nominal prefix. With nouns whose bases begin
with a consonant, the main case forms of the prefix are as follows (ex-
amples from Figuig, Elmaiz village):

a. consonant initial stem: first type

m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL a- i- ta- ti-
EA w@-, u- y@-, i- t(@)- t(@)-
The allomorphs w@/u and y@/i are conditioned by morphonological
factors.
b. consonant initial stem: second type
m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL i- i- ti- ti-
EA y@-, i- y@-, i- t(@)- t(@)-
The allomorphs y@/i are conditioned by morphonological factors.
c. consonant initial stem: third type
m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL º- i- t- ti-
EA u- i- t- t-
This type occurs with the majority of nouns with a stem where the
initial consonant is followed by a full vowel (e.g., º-fus ‘hand’). In
many Berber dialects this type is absent.
d. vowel initial stem: 6 first vowel a
m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL º-a º-a t-a t-a
EA w-a w-a t-a t-a
e. vowel initial stem: first vowel i
m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL º-i º-i t-i t-i
EA y-i y-i t-i t-i
In the plural of many nouns of this type, the stem-initial vowel i is
changed to a.
f. vowel initial stem: first vowel u
m. sg. m. pl. f. sg. f. pl.
EL º-u º-u t-u t-u
EA w-u w-u t-u t-u

6. Following Penchoen (1973: 13), we consider the nouns with so-called “voyelle con-
stante” as having stem-initial vowel. Cf. Kossmann 1997: 73.
 Berber Morphology 433

Some examples:

type (a)
m. sg. EL a-ƒyul m. pl. EL i-ƒyal ‘donkey’
EA w@-ƒyul EA y@-ƒyal
f. sg. EL ta-zday-t f. pl. EL ti-zday-in ‘palm tree’
EA t@-zday-t EA t@-zday-in

type (c)
m. sg. EL º-Îar m. pl. EL i-Îar-´n ‘foot’
EA u-Îar EA i-Îar-´n
f. sg. EL t-wasun-t f. pl. EL ti-wasun-in ‘girl’
EA t-wasun-t EA t-wasun-in

type (d)
m. sg. EL º-anu m. pl. EL º-anu-t´n ‘well’
EA w-anu EA w-anu-t´n
f. sg. EL t-azar-t f. pl. EL t-azar-in ‘fig tree’
EA t-azar-t EA t-azar-in

The above schemes apply to most Berber dialects of Morocco and

Northern Algeria. In Touareg, the prefix of the EA consists only of a short
vowel å- or @-. In the dialects of Libya and Egypt, the case distinction is
absent, although some archaisms may point to its former presence (cf. for
Ghadamès, Lanfry 1971–72).

3.3. Number
Berber nouns distinguish two numbers: singular (including collective) and
plural. The distinction is expressed in a number of ways:
1. Change of the prefixes a- and ta- to i- and ti-, respectively. When the
noun stem begins with a vowel, other changes may take place.
2. Suffixation, sometimes accompanied by the insertion of stem exten-
sions. These extensions typically consist of a semivowel w (sometimes y or
t) with or without one or more vocalic elements. The suffixes are:

Figuig Ghadamès
m. pl. -@n -ån
m. pl. -an
f. pl. -in -en

Examples (all in EL, taken from Figuig):

sg. pl. gloss

a-mƒar≥ i-mƒar≥ -@n ‘important man’
a-lƒ@m i-l@ƒm-an ‘camel’
ta-mƒar≥ -t ti-mƒar≥ -in ‘important
woman’
ta-lƒ@m-t ti-l@ƒm-in ‘she-camel’
434 Maarten Kossmann

3.4. Noun stem apophony

In Figuig Berber noun stem apophony, the plural scheme (u)-a is applied to
the form of the singular stem. This means that in the plural, a final vowel
or a full vowel that is followed by a lax consonant is changed into a.
If the singular stem ends in two lax consonants, a is inserted between
them. If the singular stem features the vowel a in another position than
those mentioned, this vowel is changed to u. Examples (all in EL; taken
from Figuig):

sg. pl. gloss

a-ƒ@nsu i-ƒ@nsa ‘face’
a-y@lzim i-y@lzam ‘hoe’
a-m@zwar i-m@zwar ‘first’
º-mir@w i-miraw ‘side of the hand’
º-badu i-buda ‘furrow’
t-ƒard@m-t ti-ƒurdam ‘scorpion’

Ghadamès Berber, which distinguishes two short vowels å and @, has a

plural ablaut scheme (@)-a in addition to the scheme (u)-a. Following this
scheme, the vowel å of the singular stem is changed to @ in the plural stem
when it precedes the plural apophony vowel a, e.g.:

sg. pl. gloss

a-n@smir º-n@smara ‘iron nail’
ta-z@ƒƒar-t t-z@ƒƒar ‘basin’
ta-låss@nt t-l@ssan ‘milk vase’
a-zånk@Î º-z@nkaÎ ‘gazelle’
a. In Ghadamès word-initial *i- is regularly lost.

The apophonic plural is derived from the singular stem: while the form
of the singular stem permits us to predict the form of the apophonic plural
with some certainty, the form of the plural does not allow to predict the
singular stem. For example, the plural vowel a can correspond to a, i, u or
zero (shwa) in the singular stem.
Prefix change is independent from apophony and suffixation. Suffix-
ation and stem apophony are rarely combined. The choice between these
two processes is lexically determined. In addition to the main groups de-
scribed here, there exist many sub-types and irregular plural formations.
3.5. Nouns without prefixes and suffixes
3.5.1. Nouns of Berber origin
In a small group of nouns (e.g., Figuig yuma ‘brother’, la˛ ‘hunger’) there
are no prefixes or suffixes. 7 These nouns have no morphological marking
of gender and case. Their plurals are formed either by a prefix id- or by sup-
pletion.
7. Nouns belonging to this group should not be confused with nouns that have a º-
prefix in the EL sg., as these permit gender and case distinctions (see 3.2. group [c]).
 Berber Morphology 435

3.5.2. Arabic loans

Loans from Arabic, which in many dialects constitute a large percentage of
the vocabulary, can be integrated in Berber morphology using Berber mor-
phological devices. Many Arabic loans, however, are not integrated and
constitute a separate morphological system. Non-berberized loans show no
case distinctions and use Arabic patterns of plural formation. Even the Ara-
bic dual form is sometimes found. The f. sg. is marked by the suffix -@t,
which is syllabified in a way different from the Berber f. sg. suffix -t. A typi-
cal feature of non-Berberized loans is the retention of the Arabic article
which loses its meaning and becomes part of the stem, e.g.:
Maghribine Arabic b@yt ’a room’
l-b@yt ’the room’
Figuig Berber lb@yt ’a room, the room’

4. The verb
4.1. Inflection
Berber verbs are inflected by subject affixes, which can be prefixes, suffixes
or circumfixes. Figuig Berber, as do many Moroccan and Algerian dialects,
only distinguishes between two sets of suffixes, an indicative and an im-
perative set:
indicative imperative example ‘to learn’
Sg. 1 -@ƒ l@md-@ƒ
2 t- -@da -º t-l@md-@d lm@d!
3m i- i-lm@d
3f t- t-@lm@d
Pl. 1 n- n-@lm@d
2m t- -@m -@m t-l@md-@m l@md-@m!
2f t- -@mt -@mt t-l@md-@mt l@md-@mt!
3m -@n l@md-@n
3f -@nt l@md-@nt
a. There is important dialectal variation as to the form of the 2 sg. suffix:
beside -@d, which is most common, one finds, among others, -@t and -@Î.

The dialect of Ghadamès has two sets of indicative suffixes in addition

to the one in common with Figuig Berber, which are associated with the
different aspectual stems: a stative set and an inflectional set for the Fu-
ture. Compare the indicative inflections of the verb ‘to be small’ in the
table on p. 436.
The Future indicative set of suffixes, which is only used after the non-
real particle @d, is unique to Ghadamès Berber. It is currently debated
whether it represents an innovation or an archaism (cf. Kossmann 2000).
The stative set of suffixes is found in a number of other dialects, includ-
ing Touareg and Kabyle. Traces of it can be found in many more variants
of Berber and its reconstruction for Proto-Berber is undisputed. It is only
used with a lexically restricted set of stative verbs and its aspect can only
436 Maarten Kossmann

be the Preterite. In other aspects, where the stative verbs have inchoative
or habitative meaning, the other indicative suffixes are used.

normal indicative stative indicative future indicative

(aoriste) (prétérit) (futur)
Sg. 1 @mtit-åEa måttit-åE @mtit
2 t-@mtit-@t måttit-@t t-@mtit
3m i-mtitb måttit i-mtit
3f t-@mtit måttit-åt t-@mtit
Pl. 1c n-@mtitc m@ttit-it n-@mtit
1m n-@mtit-åt m@ttit-it n-@mtit-åt
1f n-@mtit-måt m@ttit-it n-@mtit-måt
2m t-@mtit-åm m@ttit-it t-@mtit-åm
2f t-@mtit-måt m@ttit-it t-@mtit-måt
3m @mtit-ån m@ttit-it @mtit-ån
3f @mtit-nåt m@ttit-it @mtit-nåt
a. The 1 sg. -åE is historically derived form *-åƒ.
b. The 3 sg. m. prefix i- goes back to *y@-.
c. The 1 pl. common is used in circumstances somewhat different from the
1 pl. with gender differentiation (cf. Lanfry 1968: 327–30).

4.2. Overview of the aspectual stems

Figuig Berber has three basic stems denoting tense/aspect distinctions that
are coordinate with two negative stems. In Berberology, there are impor-
tant discussions as to the analysis of the different aspects, e.g., Galand
(1977), Leguil (1984), Prasse (1984–86), Galand (1987), Chaker (1993). The
naming of the stems is widely divergent with the different authors. 8 In the
following, we shall employ the most widely used terminology, that pro-
posed by André Basset (e.g., 1952). The terminology of Galand (1977) is
given in square brackets.
The use of the basic positive stems can be summarized in the following,
very simplified way:
1a. Aorist [aoriste] without preceding particle:
• imperative (with imperative conjugation)
• as an unmarked aspect: in narrative sequences, the Aorist can
function as a follow up for one of the other verbal forms (impera-
tive, ad + Aorist, Preterite or Intensive Aorist). It takes its aspectual
interpretation from the preceding verb.
1b. Aorist preceded by the particle ad:
• non-real (adhortative, future, etc.)
2. Preterite [accompli]
• in dynamic use: past tense
• in stative use: state (not temporally defined), including states of
mind like ‘to want, to know’

8. See the list made by P. Reesink in his unpublished dissertation; see Cadi 1987: 53.
 Berber Morphology 437

3. Intensive Aorist, often called “habitative” [inaccompli]

• dynamic present
• habitative and iterative
• habitative imperative
• negation of any imperative
The Intensive Aorist can be preceded by the particle ad and denote a non-
real habitual or iterative event.
Morphologically, the negation of the verb corresponds in the following
ways to the positive uses:

positive negative
imperative ul + positive Intensive Aorist
narrative Aorist –
ad + Aorist ul + negative Intensive Aorist
Preterite ul + negative Preterite
Intensive Aorist ul + negative Intensive Aorist

The negative Preterite and the negative Intensive Aorist are exclusively
found after ul ‘not’. 9 Despite this restriction to an unambiguously nega-
tive environment, the negative Preterite is found in almost all Berber dia-
lects. Only a small number of Libyan and Egyptian dialects and some sub-
dialects of SW-Moroccan Tashelhiyt have lost this form. The negative
Intensive Aorist is much less general and is missing in some of the better
known dialects such as Tashelhiyt and Kabyle. Its geographical distribu-
tion nevertheless points to a Proto-Berber origin (Kossmann 1989).
The dialect of Ghadamès has, in addition to the five different stem
forms of Figuig Berber, a sixth form which is unique to it. This form, the
“future” is used after the particle @d (corresponding to Figuig ad) and has
the same functions as the non-real ad + Aorist in Figuig. The Ghadamès
Future displays a special conjugation.
Touareg has a more extensive system, showing in addition to the Pret-
erite a “resultative” or “intensive” Preterite. In the Eastern dialects of Au-
gila (Libya) and Siwa (Egypt) verbal forms with the same function, but
with other morphological characteristics are found (cf. Leguil 1986). In
Touareg dialects of Mali, two different positive Intensive Aorists are distin-
guished (cf. Leguil 1979–84).
4.3. The morphology of the aspectual stems
It is impossible to present here a full overview of the morphology of the
aspect stems. For Touareg, de Foucauld distinguished more than two hun-
dred conjugation types and subtypes, and although this number can be
reduced, the total remains remarkably high. In a remarkable effort of inter-
nal reconstruction, Karl-G. Prasse managed to reduce the number of types
to less then 20 (Prasse 1972–74). It should be noted, however, that this re-
duction can hardly be maintained in a synchronic analysis. Therefore the
9. According to the dialects, this particle has a number of other forms: w@l, w@r, ur, etc.
438 Maarten Kossmann

observations made here will only offer a glance at the complexity of Berber
stem formations and do not convey the complete picture.
It should be noted that the morphology of the aspect stems is almost
entirely determined by the formal structure of the stem. This means that
the question whether a stem has two or three consonants, and whether
and at which position it contains full vowels or not is much more impor-
tant than the semantics of the verb. The formal structure of the verb is
only in one case (some stative verbs) linked to the semantics of the verbs.
In all other cases, formal structure and semantics are not related.
4.3.1 The apophony of Aorist, Preterite, and negative Preterite
in Figuig
In Figuig, as in most other dialects of Morocco and Northern Algeria, the
Aorist and the Preterite are often homophonous. In those verbal types that
do not have a stem-internal full vowel, this is regular, e.g.:

‘to learn’ ‘to stand up’ ‘to fly’

Aorist lm@d kk@r ff@rf@r
Preterite lm@d kk@r ff@rf@r

The same is true for verbs with stem-final vowels. In verbs with initial
(and sometimes medial) a in the Aorist, the Preterite has u:

‘to begin’ ‘to steal’ ‘to be thirsty’

Aorist bda as@r ffad
Preterite bda us@r ffud

In addition to these groups, there is a class of biradical verbs that have

no vowel in the Aorist, and a vowel differentiation according to person/
number inflection in the Preterite.
One should note that many dialects have an apophony Aorist u: Preter-
ite a in verbs with final vowel, e.g., Kabyle aor. bdu prt. bda ‘to begin’.
Moreover, Figuig Berber lacks the apophonic type in which a medial vowel
i in the Aorist corresponds to the Preterite a, e.g., Tashelhiyt aor. mEiwin
prt. mEawan ‘to help each other’.
The negative Preterite is derived from the Preterite form in the follow-
ing ways:
1. If the Preterite form ends in a vowel, the vowel is replaced by the
vowel i.
2. In the verbal classes of the following types, i is inserted before the
last consonant: |CCC|, |C$ C|, |VCC|, |VC$ C|.
3. In all other structures the form of the negative Preterite is identical
with that of the positive Preterite.

Examples:

Preterite bda lm@d kk@r us@r ff@rf@r ffud

negative Preterite bdi lmid kkir usir ff@rf@r ffud
 Berber Morphology 439

4.3.2. The formation of the Intensive Aorist in Figuig

In Figuig, as in all Berber dialects, the Intensive Aorist is derived from the
Aorist stem by the following means (see Kossmann 2002):
a. In verbs of the structures |CCC|, |CCV| and |CC| by means of gemi-
nation (tension) of one of the consonants of the stem. In the case of
|CCC| and |CCV| the second radical is tensed. In the case of |CC|, it
depends on the verb whether the first or the second radical is tensed.
b. In verbs of other structures, a prefix tt- is added to the Aorist stem.
This prefixation is sometimes accompanied by the infixation of a
vowel.
Examples:

‘learn’ ‘begin’ ‘build’ ‘knit’

Aorist lm@d bda s@k d@r
Int. Aor. l@mm@d b@dda s@kk ddar
‘stand up’ ‘steal’ ‘fly’ ‘be unemployed’
Aorist kk@r as@r ff@rf@r sum@r
Int. Aor. tt@kk@r ttas@r ttf@rf@r ttsumur

The negative Intensive Aorist is derived from its positive counterpart by

changing any vowel a in i, e.g.:

‘begin’ ‘steal’ ‘knit’ ‘speak’

Int. Aor. b@dda ttas@r ddar ssawal
neg. Int. Aor. b@ddi ttis@r ddir ssiwil

If there is no such a, the positive and the negative Intensive Aorists are
identical.
4.3.3. Short vowel apophony in Ghadamès
In Ghadamès, one finds apophony in the short vowel system in addition
to the full vowel changes described above. Because of this apophony,
almost all cases of homophony in the Figuig stem forms are absent in
Ghadamès. For a number of verbal types, the short vowel apophony of
Ghadamès can be described by the following scheme:

Aorist å-@ åkr@z ‘to plough’

Preterite @-å @kråz
Future @-å @kråz
neg. Preterite @-e @krez
Intensive Aorist @-å-å @kårråz
neg. Int. Aorist @-@-@ @k@rr@z

There exist a large number of other schemes, more or less different from
that of åkr@z. The Ghadamès Future is often identical, either to the Preterite
or to the Aorist form. There are, however, enough cases where the Future
is different from all other forms to prove its independent status.
440 Maarten Kossmann

Short vowel apophony of this type is attested in those Berber dialects

that have more than one short vowel, i.e., in Ghadamès and in Touareg
(e.g., Heath 2005). It represents without doubt a more archaic situation
than that found in Figuig.
4.4. The relative verb form (“participle”)
In some types of relative clauses (including Wh-questions), a special verbal
form is used, traditionally called the “participle.” The Participle is ex-
clusively used in those cases where the antecedent is the subject of the
relative sentence. In most dialects the Participle can be formed with all as-
pectual stem formations. There is important dialectal variation as to the
degree of inflectional agreement the Participle shows (cf. Drouin 1996;
Kossmann 2003). In some dialects (e.g., Riffian), the Participle contains
no gender-number distinctions, in others (e.g., Tashelhiyt) only number
agreement exists and in still others both gender and number are expressed
in the Participle (e.g., Touareg). Moreover, many dialects have different in-
flectional forms according to the different tense-aspect markers. Figuig Ber-
ber is an instance of a dialect where only this tense-aspect inflectional
differentiation is found:

Aorist n- n-ak@r ‘to steal’

Preterite i/y-. . .-@n y-ukr-@n
neg. Preterite n- n-ukir
Intensive Aor. i/y-. . .-@n i-ttakr-@n
neg. Int. Aor. n- n-@ttik@r

In Ghadamès a more elaborate system of Participial forms is found. Ab-

stracting from variants that constitute a simplification of this system, we
have the following forms:

m. sg. f. sg. m./f. pl.

positive forms i-. . .-ån t-. . .-åt -nin
negative forms ån i- åt t- nin i-

In Ghadamès, the suffixes of the (positive) Participle function like clitics.

Exactly under those circumstances where the clitics are moved to preverbal
position (after the non-real particle ad, after the negative particle) forms
with preposed n- (etc.) are found. The preposed ån, åt and nin of the nega-
tive Participles can be disjuncted from the verb by clitic pronouns.
4.5. The derived stems of the verb
In Berber a number of derived stems exist which change the actant valency
of the basic stem. These derived stems are compatible with all aspect stem-
formations. The most important derivations are:
4.5.1. Derivation by the prefix ss-
This derivation changes intransitive verbs into transitive verbs. Moreover,
it is used to make verbs from nouns and onomatopoeic forms, e.g. (Figuig):
 Berber Morphology 441

ff@ƒ ‘to go out’ ssuf@ƒ ‘to let out’

awal ‘word’ ssiw@l ‘to speak’
hawhaw ‘woof’ sshawhaw ‘to bark’

It is very rare that the prefix ss- be applied to transitive verbs in order to
form double transitive verbs. With verbs that have s, z, z or ˛ as a stem
consonant, the form of the causative prefix can be assimilated to ss, zz, zz
and ˛˛, respectively.
4.5.2. Derivation by a nasal prefix
The nasal prefix shows a large amount of allomorphy. The prefix always
has the element mm-; if a labial consonant b, f, or m follows this can be
dissimilated to nn-. This basic element is often enlarged by extensions, giv-
ing forms like mmu-, my- mya-, mlu-, etc. The nasal derivation is used to
form intransitive verbs. Normally, it is based on transitive verbs, though
sometimes intransitives can also have this derivation. The main uses of the
nasal derivation are the formation of reflexive, passive and reciprocal
verbs. It depends on the verb and on the dialect which semantics are at-
tached to the derivation. Examples:

Figuig:
n@ƒ ’to kill’ mmn@ƒ ‘to fight’
bÎa ’to divide’ mmubÎa ‘to divide oneself’
Ghadamès:
åkn@f ’to roast’ mm@kn@f ‘to be roasted’
ånn ’to kill’ mm@nn ‘to be killed’

4.5.3. Derivation by a dental prefix tt-

Like the nasal prefix, the dental prefix shows a lot of allomorphy. In addi-
tion to the element tt- one finds different extensions: tw-, ttwa-, ttu-, ttuyi-,
ttiw-, ttyiw-, etc. The dental prefix is commonly used to form passives. It is
lacking in some eastern dialects (among others Ghadamès), where its func-
tion is taken over by nasal derivation. Figuig Berber is unique in opposing
two different passive derivations. The first, using the prefixes tt- and ttu-,
denotes a mediopassive with unknown or irrelevant agent. The second, us-
ing the prefix ttwa-, denotes a real passive with a known, relevant agent.
Examples:

i-tt@ska l˙iÎ
3sm-be.built wall
‘a wall is a built thing (i.e., not natural)’
i-ttwas@k l˙iÎ
3sm-be.built wall
‘the wall has been built (by someone)’

This opposition is not known from other dialects.

442 Maarten Kossmann

4.5.4. Combined derivational prefixes

Derivational prefixes can be combined as long as the result is semantically
plausible (e.g., passives from reciprocal verbs are impossible). The meaning
of the combinations can be the sum of the prefixes, e.g., Figuig:

w@s ‘to give’

mmus ‘to become engaged’ (from ‘to give oneself’)
ttwamus ‘to be betrothed (by somebody), to be given’

However, some combinations have a specific semantic interpretation.

This is, for example, the case with the Figuig ms- derivation and the Tou-
areg n@m@- derivation, which are used to form reciprocal verbs.
Whereas many combinations of two prefixes are attested, combinations
of three are much rarer and only found with specific lexical items.

5. The verbal clitics

The Berber verb can be accompanied by a number of clitic pronominal and
deictic elements. Most important are the pronouns of the direct and of the
indirect object and the ventive particles dd ‘hither’ (generally attested) and
nn ‘thither’ (lacking in many dialects, including Figuig Berber). These three
groups of elements form a clitic group which cannot be broken up by any
other element.
A typical feature of Berber clitic syntax is the process of clitic move-
ment. Whereas the clitic string normally immediately follows the verb, it
is moved to preverbal position under certain circumstances (examples
from Figuig):

1. after the particles a(d) (non-real) and u(l) (negation): 10

˛r≥i-x ss
visited-1s him
‘I visited him’
a ss ˛r≥-@x
non-real him visit-1s
‘I shall visit him’
2. in relative phrases (including Wh-questions):
nnwi dd y-iw@y u-m@˛˛yan
kernel hither 3sm-brought EA-small
‘the date kernel that the small (child) brought here’
may s@m y-uƒ-@n?
what you participle-attained-participle
‘what happened to you (woman)?, what’s the matter?’

10. In Figuig and in some other Berber languages, there exists a future particle sad
(Tashelhiyt rad) which also causes clitic movement.
 Berber Morphology 443

3. after some conjunctions (especially temporal conjunctions), e.g.,

i stt i-r≥r@≥ ˛
when her 3sm-broke
‘when he had broken it’
If a verb phrase with the non-real ad or the negative ul is found in rela-
tive phrases or in conjunctions, the clitic pronouns precede the particle. In
this case, the non-real particle is changed to ala: 11
wi ss ala n-@sk@r?
who him non-real participle-praise
‘who will praise him?’

11. In other dialects, other forms occur, such as ƒa, ƒra, ara, etc.

Bibliography
With a few exceptions, only literature postdating 1965 is included. Unpub-
lished dissertations are left out.
a. Bibliographies
The most comprehensive bibliography for Berber studies is:
Bougchiche, Lamara
1997 Langues et littératures berbères des origines à nos jours. Bibliographie inter-
nationale. Paris: Ibis.
b. General overviews
Basset, André
1929 Le verbe berbère: Étude des thèmes. Paris: Leroux.
1952 La langue berbère. Handbook of African Languages 1. London: Oxford
University Press.
Camps, Gabriel, and Salem Chaker, eds.
1984– Encyclopédie berbère. Aix-en-Provence: Édisud.
Chaker, Salem
1984 Textes en linguistique berbère: Introduction au domaine berbère. Paris: Cen-
tre national de la recherche scientifique.
1995 Linguistique berbère: Études de syntaxe et de diachronie. M. S.—Ussun ama-
ziƒ 8. Société d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France
353. Paris-Louvain: Peeters.
Galand, Lionel
1988 Le berbère. Pp. 207–42 in Les langues dans le monde ancien et moderne;
troisième partie: Les langues chamito-sémitiques (textes réunis par David
Cohen), ed. Jean Perrot. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scienti-
fique.
c. Recent morphological descriptions
Abdel-Massih, Ernest T.
1971 A Reference Grammar of Tamazight. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press.
444 Maarten Kossmann

Bentolila, Fernand
1981 Grammaire fonctionnelle d’un parler berbère: Aït Seghrouchen d’Oum Je-
niba (Maroc). Paris: Société d'Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques
de France.
Chaker, Salem
1983 Un parler berbère d’Algérie (Kabylie): syntaxe. Aix en Provence: Université
de Provence.
Heath, Jeffrey
2005 A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali). Berlin: de Gruyter.
Kossmann, Maarten
1997 Grammaire du parler berbère de Figuig (Maroc oriental). M. S.—Ussun ama-
ziƒ 10. Société d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France
363. Paris-Louvain: Peeters.
2000 Esquisse grammaticale du rifain oriental. M. S.—Ussun amaziƒ 16. Société
d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France 387. Paris-
Louvain: Peeters.
Lanfry, Jacques
1968 Ghadamès I: Étude linguistique et ethnographique. Fort-national: Le fichier
périodique.
Penchoen, Thomas G.
1973 Tamazight of the Ayt Ndhir. Los Angeles: Undena.
Prasse, Karl-Gustav
1972–74 Manuel de grammaire touarègue (tåhåggart). 3 vols. Copenhague: Aka-
demisk Forlag.
Willms, Alfred
1972 Grammatik der südlichen Beraberdialekte (Südmarokko). Glückstadt: Au-
gustin.

d. Selection of other relevant literature

Abdel-Massih, Ernest T.
1971 Tamazight Verb Structure: A Generative Approach. Bloomington: Univer-
sity of Indiana Press / The Hague: Mouton.
Allaoua, Abdelmajid
1993 Les verbes de qualité et quelques remarques sur les pronoms personnels
en berbère. Acta Orientalia 54: 31–45.
Basset, André
1945 Sur la voyelle initiale en berbère. Revue africaine 402–3: 82–88. Re-
printed, pp. 83–89 in André Basset, Articles de dialectologie berbère. Paris:
Klincksieck, 1959.
Bendjaballah, Sabrina
1998 Aspects apophoniques de la vocalisation du verbe berbère (kabyle). Pp. 5–24
in Actes de la conférence Langue et Grammaire 2–3: Phonology, ed. Patrick
Sauzet. Paris: Publication du département SDL de l’Université Paris.
Brugnatelli, Vermondo
1987 Deux notes sur l’État d’Annexion en berbère. Pp. 349–59 in Proceedings
of the Fourth International Hamito-Semitic Congress. ed. Herrmann Jung-
raithmayr and Walter Müller. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
 Berber Morphology 445

1997 L’état d’annexion en diachronie. Pp. 139–50 in Afroasiatica Neapolitana,

ed. Alessandro Bausi and Mauro Tosco. Naples: Istituto Universitario
Orientale.
Cadi, Kaddour
1987 Système verbal rifain: forme et sens. Paris: Société d’Études Linguisti-
ques et Anthropologiques de France.
Chaker, Salem
1972–73 Dérivés de manière en berbère (kabyle). Comptes rendus du Groupe
Linguistique d’Etudes chamito-semitiques 17: 81–96.
1984 A propos du passif en berbère in Travaux du Cercle Linguistique d’Aix-en-
Provence 2: 127–42.
1988 Annexion, État d’. Pp. 686–95 in vol. 5 of Encyclopédie berbère. Aix-en-
Provence: Édisud.
1993 L’orientation du prédicat verbal en berbère: Prédicats d’existence,
Diathèse et aspect. Etudes et Documents Berbères 10: 89–111.
Chaker, Salem, and Dominique Caubet, eds.
1996 La négation en berbère et en arabe maghrébin. Paris: L’Harmattan.
Cohen, David
1993 Racines. Pp. 161–75 in A la croisée des études libyco-berbères: Mélanges
offerts à Paulette Galand-Pernet et Lionel Galand, ed. Jeannine Drouin
and Arlette Roth. Paris: Geuthner.
Drouin, Jeannine
1981 Recherches sur les verbes dérivés: n-, m-, nm- en tawellemmet (touareg
nigérien). Bulletin des Etudes Africaines de l’INALCO 1: 25–34.
1996 Les formes participiales en berbère—essai de dialectologie comparée.
Littérature Orale Arabo-Berbère (LOAB) 24: 233–60.
El Moujahid, El Houssaïn
1997 Grammaire générative du berbère: Morphologie et syntaxe du nom en ta-
chelhit. Rabat: Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences
Humaines.
Galand, Lionel
1964 L’énoncé verbal en berbère: Étude de fonctions. Cahiers Ferdinand de
Saussure 21: 33–53.
1966 Les pronoms personnels du berbère. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique
de Paris 61/1: 286–98.
1977 Continuité et renouvellement d’un système verbal: Le cas du berbère.
Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 72/1: 275–303.
1980 Une intégration laborieuse: Les ‘verbes de qualité’ du berbère. Bulletin
de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 75/1: 347–62.
1987 Les emplois de l’aoriste sans particule en berbère. Pp. 361–79 in Pro-
ceedings of the Fourth International Hamito-Semitic Congress (Marburg 20–
22 September 1983), ed. Herrmann Jungraithmayr and Walter Müller.
Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Guerssel, Mohand
1986 On Berber Verbs of Change: A Study of Transitivity Alternations. Lexicon
Project Working Papers 9. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
1992 On the Case System of Berber. Revue canadienne de linguistique 37: 175–
95.
446 Maarten Kossmann

Kossmann, Maarten
1989 L’inaccompli négatif en berbère. Etudes et Documents Berbères 6: 19–29.
2000 Le futur à Ghadamès et l’origine de la conjugaison verbale en berbère.
Pp. 237–56 in Études berbères et chamito-sémitiques: Mélanges offerts à
Karl-G. Prasse, ed. Salem Chaker and Andrzej Zaborski. M. S.—Ussun
amaziƒ 15. Société d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de
France 381. Paris-Louvain: Peeters.
2001a Les désinences modales en berbére. Revista degli Studi Orientali 74: 25–
39.
2001b The Origin of the Glottal Stop in Zenaga and Its Reflexes in the Other
Berber Languages. Afrika un Übersee 84: 61–100.
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2003 The Origin of the Berber “Participle.” Pp. 27–40 in Afrasian: Selected
Comparative-Historical Linguistic Studies in Memory of Igor M. Diakonoff,
ed. Lionel Bender, David Appleyard, and Gábor Takács. Munich: Lin-
com.
Lanfry, Jacques
1971–72 Deux notes sur le berbère de Ghadamès. Comptes rendus du Groupe
Linguistique d’Etudes chamito-semitiques G.L.E.C.S. 16: 175–84.
Leguil, Alphonse
1979–84 Opposition et alternance des inaccomplis dans l’Adagh des Ifoghas.
Comptes rendus du Groupe Linguistique d’Etudes chamito-semitiques
G.L.E.C.S. 24–28: 147–96.
1984 Modes, temps et aspects verbaux, notamment en berbère. Cahiers bal-
kaniques de l’INALCO 7: 185–97.
1986 Notes sur le parler de Siwa (I). Bulletin des Etudes Africaines de l’INALCO
6: 5–42.
1986 Notes sur le parler de Siwa (II). Bulletin des Etudes Africaines de l’INALCO
6: 97–124.
1992 Structures prédicatives en berbère: Bilan et perspectives. Paris: L’Harmattan.
Prasse, Karl-Gustav
1984–86 The Value of the Tenses in Tuareg (Berber). Orientalia Suecana 33–35:
333–39.
1998 Le ghadamsi. Pp. 3073–78 in vol. 20 of Encyclopédie berbère. Aix-en-
Provence: Édisud.